Valorant

Valorant is a highly frame-rate-sensitive competitive FPS, and the measured data for the Intel Core i5-12400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 shows exceptional headroom at every tested setting. The benchmark results indicate that this combination is capable of delivering frame rates that far exceed the refresh rate capabilities of most high-end monitors, making the choice of settings more about consistency and visual preference than about achieving playability. The data strongly suggests that users should prioritize the Low preset for maximum competitive advantage, as it consistently provides the highest average frame rates across all resolutions, ensuring the lowest input latency and the smoothest possible experience.

Settings Recommendations

The performance hierarchy across settings is remarkably consistent, with the Low preset emerging as the clear leader in all three tested resolutions. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 530 FPS, which is 85 frames higher than the High preset’s 445 FPS and 92 frames higher than the Ultra preset’s 438 FPS. This pattern holds at higher resolutions, where the Low preset maintains its dominance with 503 FPS at 2560x1440 and 467 FPS at 3840x2160. For a competitive title like Valorant, where every millisecond of input lag matters, the Low preset is the unequivocal recommendation for maximizing performance.

The Medium preset offers a compelling middle ground for those who desire a slight visual upgrade without sacrificing substantial performance. At 1920x1080, Medium achieves 452 FPS average, with a minimum of 384 FPS and a maximum of 520 FPS, showing only a 78 FPS deficit compared to Low. However, the data reveals that the Ultra preset provides negligible visual benefits for the performance cost. At 3840x2160, Ultra drops to 385 FPS average, which is 82 FPS below the Low preset’s 467 FPS. Given that Valorant’s art style is inherently clean and low-fidelity, the performance penalty of Ultra settings is not justified by the marginal visual improvements.

For users with 240Hz or 360Hz monitors, the Low preset is the only setting that guarantees frame rates stay well above the display’s refresh rate at all times. Even at 4K resolution, the Low preset achieves 467 FPS average, which is comfortably above any current monitor’s refresh rate. The High preset, while still performing admirably, introduces a performance cliff that could cause frame rate dips below 400 FPS in intense combat scenarios on 4K displays. Therefore, the data-driven recommendation is to use Low settings for the most consistent and competitive experience, with Medium serving as a viable alternative for those who prioritize visual clarity over raw frame rate headroom.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 plays a surprisingly secondary role in Valorant’s performance equation, as the game’s engine is heavily CPU-bound at the frame rates this combination achieves. The GPU, built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process, features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, providing 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth. Its boost clock of 2475 MHz and base clock of 1920 MHz are more than sufficient for Valorant’s modest graphical demands. The data shows that the GPU is never the bottleneck, as even at 4K resolution with Ultra settings, the average frame rate remains at a staggering 385 FPS.

The GPU’s memory capacity of 12 GB is entirely irrelevant for Valorant, as the game’s textures and assets consume a fraction of this capacity. A more telling metric is the GPU’s pixel rate of 158.4 GPixel/s and texture rate of 455.4 GTexel/s, which indicate its capability to handle the game’s rendering pipeline without breaking a sweat. The RTX 4070’s 5888 shading units and 64 ROPs provide ample compute power, but the benchmark results suggest that the GPU utilization is likely low, with the CPU dictating the final frame rate ceiling.

The GPU’s role becomes more pronounced at higher resolutions, where the rendering workload increases. At 3840x2160, the difference between Low and Ultra settings is 82 FPS, whereas at 1920x1080, the same settings comparison shows a 92 FPS difference. This indicates that while the GPU does contribute to performance scaling, its impact is muted by the CPU’s ability to feed frames. The RTX 4070’s 29.15 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is overkill for Valorant, confirming that this GPU is far more powerful than necessary for this specific title. Users should view the RTX 4070 as providing near-infinite headroom for Valorant, with the actual performance ceiling determined by the CPU’s single-threaded speed.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate achieved by this combo?

A: The highest average frame rate recorded is 530 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with the Low preset. This represents the peak performance of the Intel Core i5-12400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 combination.

Q: How does the 4K performance compare to 1080p performance?

A: The data shows a significant but not dramatic drop when moving from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At Low settings, the average frame rate decreases from 530 FPS to 467 FPS, representing a 63 FPS reduction. At Ultra settings, the drop is from 438 FPS to 385 FPS, a 53 FPS reduction.

Q: Is the RTX 4070 the bottleneck in this system for Valorant?

A: No, the data indicates the GPU is not the limiting factor. Even at the highest resolution and settings (3840x2160 Ultra), the combo still achieves 385 FPS average, suggesting the CPU is the primary constraint on maximum frame rate.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for the Medium preset?

A: The Medium preset shows minimum frame rates of 384 FPS at 1920x1080, 365 FPS at 2560x1440, and 338 FPS at 3840x2160. These minimums are still exceptionally high and well above typical monitor refresh rates.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested combinations?

A: This combo ranks 1071 out of 3708 tested combinations, placing it in the top 29% of all systems tested. This rank reflects its overall performance across all games, not just Valorant.

Q: Does the Ultra preset provide any benefit over High settings?

A: The data shows minimal performance differences between High and Ultra presets. At 2560x1440, High averages 422 FPS while Ultra averages 415 FPS, a mere 7 FPS difference. This suggests Ultra settings do not significantly impact performance in Valorant.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-12400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 combination ranks 1071 out of 3708 tested combos, placing it in the upper third of all systems in the database. This rank is impressive given that the CPU is a mid-range offering, but the GPU is a high-end part. The data suggests that this combo’s overall ranking is pulled down by the CPU’s limitations in other, more demanding games, while in Valorant specifically, the performance is exceptional. The combo’s percentile ranking of 73 for the CPU and 81 for the GPU indicates that both components are above average individually, but their combined performance in Valorant exceeds what those percentiles might suggest.

When compared to other combos in the database, this pairing’s Valorant performance is likely in the top percentile, given the measured frame rates. The 530 FPS average at 1080p Low is a figure that would place this combo among the fastest for competitive gaming. The rank of 1071 out of 3708 is a holistic measure across all games, so users should interpret this with the understanding that Valorant’s low graphical demands allow this combo to shine particularly brightly. The CPU’s nearest rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS and Intel Core 3 201E, have nearly identical average benchmark scores, but the i5-12400F’s 6 cores and 12 threads at a 4.40 GHz boost clock provide the single-threaded performance that Valorant requires.

The GPU’s nearest rivals, including the NVIDIA Tesla P4 and AMD Radeon RX Vega 56, show that the RTX 4070 is in a competitive performance tier. However, the RTX 4070’s 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth give it a significant advantage in higher-resolution scenarios. For Valorant specifically, the combo’s rank is less relevant than its absolute performance, which is exceptional. Users seeking a system for competitive FPS play would find this combo to be overkill in the best possible way, providing frame rates that far exceed any display’s refresh rate capabilities.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400F is the primary driver of Valorant’s high frame rates, as the game’s physics and game logic are heavily reliant on single-threaded CPU performance. This processor, based on the Alder Lake architecture, features 6 cores and 12 threads with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. The benchmark results show that the CPU’s single-threaded performance is exceptional, with a 3dmark_single_thread score of 909 and a passmark_single_thread score of 3481. These figures are critical for Valorant, where the main game thread often becomes the bottleneck at high frame rates.

The CPU’s 18 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB per-core L2 cache provide ample storage for the game’s frequently accessed data, reducing latency and improving frame consistency. The data shows that the CPU can maintain frame rates above 500 FPS at 1080p, which reflects its strong single-core performance. The multi-threaded scores, such as 12380 in cinebench_r23_multicore, are less relevant for Valorant but indicate that the CPU has sufficient headroom for background tasks while gaming.

The i5-12400F’s 65W TDP and 10 nm process node make it an efficient choice, but its performance is what matters here. The CPU’s nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS, has an almost identical average benchmark score of 19047, but the i5-12400F’s higher boost clock and desktop-oriented design give it an edge in sustained workloads. In Valorant, the CPU’s role is to feed the GPU with as many frames as possible, and the data shows it does this admirably, with the GPU never becoming a limiting factor. Users should note that the CPU’s 4.40 GHz boost clock is achieved on a single core, which is exactly what Valorant needs.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. The Low preset achieves an average of 530 FPS, with no minimum or maximum recorded. The Medium preset shows an average of 452 FPS, with a minimum of 384 FPS and maximum of 520 FPS. The High preset averages 445 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 438 FPS. The performance delta between Low and Ultra is 92 FPS, representing a 17.4% reduction in frame rate for the highest visual quality.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain exceptionally high. The Low preset averages 503 FPS, demonstrating that the resolution increase has a minimal impact on performance. The Medium preset averages 429 FPS, with a minimum of 365 FPS and maximum of 493 FPS. The High preset averages 422 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 415 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 88 FPS, a 17.5% reduction.

At 3840x2160, the highest resolution tested, the combo still delivers outstanding performance. The Low preset averages 467 FPS, which is still far above any monitor’s refresh rate. The Medium preset averages 398 FPS, with a minimum of 338 FPS and maximum of 458 FPS. The High preset averages 392 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 385 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra at 4K is 82 FPS, a 17.6% reduction. The data reveals a consistent pattern: the performance penalty for increasing resolution is relatively small, with only a 63 FPS drop from 1080p Low to 4K Low. This indicates that the combo has substantial headroom, and users can choose their preferred resolution and settings with confidence that frame rates will remain competitive.